Chrysler looks to build new Jeep Cherokee in China

DETROIT, MI - Chrysler Group LLC could be building its 2014 Jeep Cherokee SUVs in China as soon as late 2014, according to a report from Automotive News at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show.

The company awaits approval from the Chinese government, which could come in the middle of this year, the report says. It would be the first Jeep built in in China in six years.

The luxury and SUV segments are the fastest growing among automotive sales in China. Last year, China was Jeep’s second largest market, behind only the United States, according to the report.

Jeep CEO Mike Manley said at the Shanghai Auto Show that the brand already has 160 dealerships in China, and plans to double the amount in two year, Automotive News reports. The company can avoid import duties and other shipping costs by building the vehicles there.

Sales of the Jeep brand more than doubled in 2012 to 46,000 units in China, where it is profitable, and Manley said that with production of the Cherokee there sales could double that figure.

The Cherokee goes on sale in the U.S. in the second quarter of this year and in China by the end of the year.

While the aggressive style update to one of Jeep's iconic models was met with some "mixed reviews" in its home market, such controversy was non existent in China, according to Manley.

"There was no controversy in China," Automotive News quotes Manley as saying. "They thought it was great."